Jan

Vocal Performance Tips

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Performing in front of an audience can be nerve-wracking, but the rush felt after a performance, during the applause is unbeatable. The key to a great performance is confidence.

If you’re nervous about a performance, here are a few tips to fake confidence.

1. Eye Contact. Maintaining eye contact with the audience helps the performer to appear more confident. In everyday life, when you’re nervous, it’s difficult to maintain eye contact with someone you’re nervous around. There’s also nothing worse for the audience than watching a nervous performer staring at the floor.

2. Enunciate. Do you ever listed to a song at a concert and realize you have no idea what they’re saying. It’s difficult to enunciate every word on stage, especially when you’re nervous, but the audience loves to hear lyrics. If the lyrics are audible, then by the end of the song, the audience might be singing along with you.

3. Convey Emotion. Performing in front of an audience is a lot like acting. Actors wouldn’t smile the whole time if they were acting in drama or tragedy. Similarly, if you’re performing a dark and somber song, try to convey the emotion to the audience. The best performances are the ones the audience can feel and relate to.

4. High Energy. Last summer, I went to two concerts; the first artist stood behind the microphone and sang beautifully, the second had back up dancers and was moving around as much as possible (without being distracting). While I prefer the first artist’s music on the radio, in person the second concert was much more fun. I loved the energy the artist was conveying. You could tell she was enjoying performing and fed off the audience.

Even if you are nervous during the performance, the audience can help you out. Try to appear confident and the audience will respond. Eventually you won’t be pretending to be confident, you actually will be.

All of our vocal instructors at Lesson Match have amazing stage presence and great performance tips.

Contact Lesson Match today to receive some great performance tips from one of our qualified voice instructors!

Sep

10 Tips to Overcome Stage Fright

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What do Adele, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart and Carly Simon have in common? They all suffer from stage fright. That’s right. Even celebrities get nervous before performing on stage. Performing on stage can be a terrifying experience, but there are a few tips and tricks to make the performance go by a little smoother.

1. Practice. The more you practice, the better you’ll feel about your talent.

2. Be prepared. Make sure that you have everything in order for your performance long before the performance is supposed to begin.

3. Analyze. Check out your performance space before the actual performance. This will ensure there are no surprises and you’ll feel more in control.

4. Relax. Find some relaxation techniques that work for you. If you have a few techniques you know will relax you before anything, this will help calm your nerves.

5. Take deep breaths. Use deep breathing to calm your body and your nerves.

6. Rid yourself of distractions. Avoid all distractions the day of your performance. Try not to have a million things on your plate that day so the only thing you have to worry about is the performance and practicing.

7. Visualize. Before the performance, take an imaginary journey of it. Close your eyes and imagine the entire performance from beginning to end. Then once the performance is actually happening, it will feel like you’ve already given the performance.

8. Nobody’s perfect. Try to accept the fact that every performance is not going to be perfect. Realize you might make a mistake every once and a while but you have to pick up and move on. That’s what helps Donny Osmond control his stage fright.

9. Encouragement. Make sure some friends and family are in the audience. Friends and family can offer silent encouragement and reinforcement.

10. Have fun! Make your performance a celebration of everything you’ve accomplished rather than punishment for being so talented.

Sep

10 Things Musicians Should Avoid

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Like all other things in this world, there are things you should and shouldn’t do in the music industry. Becoming a successful musician is definitely a possibility for people if they work hard and avoid a few things that can harm their musical future.

1. Procrastination. If you’re constantly saying “I’ll practice later” then you’re never going to perfect your instrument or your music. If you’re thinking about practicing, get up and do it. You won’t get anywhere by putting things off until the last minute.

2. Drinking and Smoking. While these may seem like two requirements to become a successful musician, they actually harm your music. Smoking can cause a musician to lose his/her voice during a show and drinking can cause a terrible hangover that interferes with a gig.

3. Stress. Musicians should always try to avoid stress! Stress can cause fatigue, which severely affects your music and sound. During a gig, if you’re stressed or tired, you might be a little slow hitting a note and ruin the whole song. Fatigue also blocks your mind so you’re not able to be creative and write new music.

4. Not setting goals. Goals are what keep people motivated to succeed. Everyone, including musicians should set goals in their life.

5. Not having the right priorities. If you want to be a successful musician, then music should be a top priority. However, don’t let music take over you’re life. Friends and family need to be a priority as well.

6. Playing only “popular” music. Don’t only play the type of music you think people want to hear. Play the music you want to play and if others like it, then great. If not, then at least you’re doing something you’re passionate about and can be proud of that.

7. Not giving enough time to music. Becoming a successful musician takes tons of practice! Even if you’ve mastered your instrument and your songs, you should still take time to write new music or learn new techniques. There’s always more to learn.

8. Waiting to be “discovered.” If you’re just sitting around waiting for someone to discover your talent, then you’ll probably wait a long time. There are many ways to become known in the music industry. Try applying for gigs or making demo CDs of your music to get your band recognized.

9. Plagiarizing. This is a big no-no even outside the music industry. People are always looking for something new and if you’re copying someone else’s music then you won’t be unique and probably won’t become successful.

10. Giving up. Even famous musicians didn’t make it big right away. Music takes trial and error before you find your sound and niche. It’s easy to become discouraged and give up, but remember to keep trying. Eventually you’ll make it!

Aug

Tips for Buying Used Musical Instruments

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Buying a full priced instrument can be a big investment, especially if you’re not completely sure you want to learn the instrument. There are tons of musical instruments out there and chances are you won’t like the first instrument you pick up. Buying used instruments can be a great way to save money, however, there are a few risks involved in purchasing a used instrument.

Be aware of who and where you’re buying the instrument. If you’re buying an instrument at a garage sale, see if you can talk to the owner of the instrument and find out why they are selling it or how long it was used. If you’re buying a used instrument online, be sure to read some customer reviews or make sure they have a good customer satisfaction rating. Try to ask as many questions as possible from the person you’re buying the instrument from.

Bring along a friend who knows a lot about music/musical instruments. A musician would be able to help you determine the overall condition of the instrument. He/she would also know what types of questions to ask the seller.

Make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Before buying a used instrument, make sure what you’re paying for the instrument is worth it. Find out how much that particular instrument sells for brand new, or how much others are selling it for used.

Spend some time looking at the instrument. If an instrument has significant external damage, chances are it will have some internal damage as well. With some instruments, like the keyboard, you should play the instrument before purchasing. Both examining the external condition and playing the instrument can tell you a lot about the instrument.

Don’t be in a hurry! Spend some time looking into different options. Learn to tell the difference between broken instruments and used instruments that are nearly new. Taking your time will also allow you to ensure you’re getting a good quality used instrument for a decent price.

Aug

10 Tips to Become a Successful Musician

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1. Have an Objective: Figure out what you want to accomplish with your music. Do you want to teach? Be a song writer? Play in a band? Figure out what it is you want to achieve and create a plan to make it happen. Knowing what you want to accomplish is the first step.

2. Have a Role Model: Most recording artists cite other artists as inspiration for their music. Looking to someone else for inspiration will help keep you focused on your goal.

3. Build an Audience: These days everyone seems to have some type of musical ability and wants to share it with the world. Play your music for your friends and family; they can give advice and constructive criticism to make you a better musician.

4. Play Live: Playing in front of others goes along with building an audience. Get your friends and family interested in your music by setting up concerts to get others interested in your music.

5. Engage With Your Fans: Include your family and friends in your creative process. That doesn’t mean asking each and every distant family member to help, but gather a few people that you trust to help you develop your skills and sound. Outsiders can often see or hear things that you miss that could take your sound one step further.

6. Know Your Instrument: Have you ever been playing your instrument and hit the chord wrong but it still sounded really cool? This is how musicians become successful, developing new sounds. Learn your instrument inside and out so you can figure out new techniques.

7. Write Your Own Music: Once you’ve perfected your instrument and are looking for a new challenge, try writing your own music. Writing music may seem difficult at first, but similar to learning to play the instrument, it will get easier.

8. Collaborate: I keep going back to including others in your music, but it’s a very helpful tool. Once you’ve written a song, meet with another musician and see if they have any advice or want to collaborate with you on this track. Artists, like Nicki Minaj, are famous for doing collaborations.

9. Think Big: Don’t settle. If you want to become a famous/successful musician then don’t let anything stop you. Do your research and find out how to make your dreams come true.

10. Share Your Music: Websites like Twitter, youtube, facebook, etc. have helped countless artists become recognized. Think Justin Bieber, his mom uploaded videos of him singing to youtube and now he’s one of the most successful recording artists today.

Play your music!

Aug

10 Practice Tips for Musicians

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1. Prepare: Prepare your body for a practice session by stretching. Tight muscles can become tense during a long practice session so make sure you are properly stretched out to avoid any discomfort.

2. Practice Area: Choose a quiet place where you can practice without distractions or disturbances.

3. Commit: Commit to practicing a certain amount of time each week. It doesn’t have to be every day, but setting goals will assure you practice enough.

4. Practice: Find out what works for you, whether it’s practicing everyday for a short period of time or a few days a week for longer periods. Although studies show that practicing for 20 minutes every day is more effective for learning; that may not be what works best for you.

5. Metronome: Always practice with a metronome! This assures you are playing at a consistent tempo and makes your music sound professional.

6. Tune: Always tune your instrument before playing it. If you’re instrument is your voice, then always be sure to warm up before singing.

7. Moderation: Don’t try to learn too many things in a single practice session. Taking on too much could overwhelm and discourage you. Take things one step at a time.

8. Practice: Don’t just practice the parts you know, tackle the more difficult parts. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s easier for people to play what they know because it has instant reward. The reward will be much greater though once you learn something new.

9. Warm Up: Split your practice time between playing songs and exercises. Sometimes you need a break from constantly playing songs, and doing exercises is a good way to keep yourself balanced.

10. Play: Set aside sometime to just play with your instrument. This is a great way to learn every aspect of your instrument and develop new techniques.